Watson College News

Welcome to New Faculty!

Thursday, September 14, 2017

The Watson College is pleased to introduce five new faculty members: Meredith Jones, Brooke Langston-DeMott and James Stocker, Department of Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle, Literacy and Special Education and Symphony Oxendine and Kerry Robinson, Department of Educational Leadership. Please join us in welcoming them all to UNCW!

Please also join us in welcoming Dawn Carter to her new role as director of development for the Watson College, a position in UNCW’s Division for University Advancement.

Meredith Jones

Assistant Professor, EEMLS

Meredith Jones earned a Ph.D. in education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.Ed. in early childhood education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a B.A. in early childhood education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Prior to joining the faculty at UNCW, she spent a year working for the Office of Child Care in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. She is a North Carolina native and was a Title I pre-kindergarten teacher in Union County Public Schools for seven years. Her areas of research include perceptions of father engagement in the early childhood years, father and family engagement in early childhood, father engagement among culturally diverse families, developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood settings and early childhood teacher preparation.

Brooke Langston-DeMott

Assistant Professor, EEMLS

Brooke Langston-DeMott graduated from the University of North Carolina Greensboro in December 2016 where she completed her in Ph.D. in educational studies with a focus on literacy. She also earned a graduate certificate in gender and women’s studies during her time at UNCG. Her dissertation, titled “Reading is power!” Critical Literacy in Practice: A Formative Experiment using Critical Literacy to Address Issues of Gender Inequity with a Fifth Grade Class, tied together her interests in literacy and gender studies.

Prior to her work at UNCG, Langston-DeMott earned a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of North Florida and a bachelor’s degree in the same field from Rollins College. She worked as an elementary school teacher for seven years, teaching third and fourth grades at Title I schools in Florida and North Carolina. Langston-DeMott’s research interests include critical literacy, children’s literature, writing, gender and education, and elementary literacy education. She joins us with her husband, Dale and daughter, Beatrice.

James Stocker

Assistant Professor, EEMLS

James Stocker earned his Ph.D. in special education from The Pennsylvania State University. He earned his first M.A. in elementary education from Seton Hall University and second M.A. in education administration from Kean University. After graduation and prior to his appointment at Watson College, he was a fixed-term assistant professor of special education at Penn State.

Stocker has 12 years of public school teaching experience at the primary and elementary levels. He has also taught in alternative school settings and provided in-home services. His research focus includes developing mathematics and science interventions for the inclusive classroom and in tiered systems of support. He specializes in applied behavior analysis to advance evidence-based practices and helps teachers efficiently and effectively manage the learning environment. His publications include a combination of practitioner pieces and original experimental research. Most recently, he completed a large project at a middle school focusing on computational fluency, number sense and quantitative reasoning.

Symphony Oxendine

Assistant Professor, EL

Symphony Oxendine, Cherokee/Choctaw is an assistant professor in higher education at the Watson College. She worked in student affairs for six years before pursuing her doctorate. She received her Ph.D. in educational studies with a concentration in higher education with a doctoral minor in educational research methodology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she also received her Masters of Education. She received her B.A. from Oklahoma State University in applied sociology.

Oxendine’s research interests include critical awareness of the social and institutional issues that affect the educational performance and institutional support of American Indians and other underrepresented groups, graduate preparation programs, cultural identity development, student involvement and its impact on retention, leadership development, policy, and political processes within post-secondary education institutions. Her concentration on these research areas will help shape the direction and development of higher education professionals by assisting in the understanding of various institutional, psychosocial and political processes as a means to support development for underrepresented students.

Kerry Robinson

Assistant Professor, EL

Kerry Robinson earned her Ph.D. in educational leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University, her administrative licensure from Virginia State University, her M. A. in special education from Kean University, and a B.A. in English literature from Michigan State University. Prior to her appointment at UNCW, she was an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee. Previously, she worked in K-12 schools for 17 years in New Jersey and Virginia as a teacher, building-level administrator and district-level administrator.

Robinson’s primary areas of research include women in leadership, the superintendency and leadership preparation. A current research project is exploring the topic of stress and health in the superintendency. She is also very active with a number of special interest groups for the American Educational Research Association including Leadership for Social Justice, Stress, Coping & Resilience and Research on Superintendency, for which she is the current chair-elect. Robinson and her spouse Paul are excited about relocating to Wilmington, which will allow them to explore both their new city and local beaches.

Dawn Carter

Director of Development, Watson College of Education
UNCW Division of University Advancement

Dawn Carter joined University Advancement in the spring of 2016, serving as Director of Development for Parent Giving, and is thrilled to join Watson College of Education and partner with Dean Dempsey to advance the mission and secure private support for WCE. With over 15 years of development experience, Dawn previously led all fundraising efforts at Cape Fear Academy and Good Shepherd Center, and worked with the Cape Fear Community College Foundation, all in Wilmington. She began her career as the Director of Development and Alumni Relations for Ridgecroft School in her hometown of Ahoskie, NC. Dawn graduated from UNCW in 1989 with a BA in psychology and has spent most of her adult life serving others through her previous career in social work, and through church and civic organizations. Dawn is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, is on the Vestry at St. James Episcopal Church, and has served on the board of the North Carolina Community Foundation. She is a 2011 graduate of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Wilmington program.

Dawn resides in Wilmington with her three children: Hinton, Mollie and Will. Hinton is a junior at UNC CH, Mollie a high school senior, and Will a freshman. For fun she likes to cook, see live music concerts, spend time with friends and family, travel and occasionally Netflix binge.

Dawn’s sister, Kim Brinkley Higgins, and mom, Lou Brinkley, are also proud Seahawks! Kim received her BA in sociology in 1987. Mom is a graduate of Watson College; BA, Intermediate Education ’87 and Masters in Elementary Education ’92.